Work-holding device



Aug. 20, 1929 I w. R. GORRELL 1,725,072

WORKHOLDING DEVI CE Filed March 29, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I7206/2 [ord/0722. 2. Gar/ell Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,725,072 PAT E N T O FF ICE.

\VILLIAM R. GOR-RELL, OF ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-HALF TOHENRY BARKSGHAT, '0! LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

'WORK-HOLDING DEVICE.

Application filed March 29, 1926. Serial No. 98,075.

This invention relates generally to devices for holding work, and ismore particularly concerned with that type of holding-device designed tosupport relatively large and bulky articles which are to be painted orotherwise superficially finished.

lVhile the device'may be useful as an adjustable easel for the use ofartists or sign painters, it has been particularly designed as a meansfor holding such articles as Window screens, screen doors, furniture,engine hoods of automobiles and the like; and, therefore, I willdescribe it as applied to such uses, though this is not intended as inany way limiting the invention to such particular usage.

The difficulty of handling window screens and screen doors duringpaintingor surfacing operations is well known to workers in the art,their bulk and awkward configuration, as far as handling is concerned,rendering it very difficult to handle them with speed and ease, thisbeing particularly true since they must be finished on bot-h sides andheld in various positions in order that all parts of the surface to befinished may be reached.

I have provided a device whereby such articles may be clamped rigidly infixed position and then swung about into a number of positions so thatthe'entire surface of the article is accessible to the operator withoutchange ofposition on the operators part. Consequently, the operator mayhandle the work ex )editiousl and turn out a suerior job since at. notime need he be placed in an awkward position or be required to supportthe article with one hand while. he isv applying paint or surfacingimplements with the other.

The device is fully adjustable so as to take articles of varying sizeand configuration, and as a further feature is collapsible so it may befolded to occupy minimum space for storage and transportation.

Other objects and novel features of the invention will be made apparentin the following detailed description, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a work holder embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan section on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 44 of Fig. 1, the clamp head beingshown in operative position;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the clamp head ininoperative position;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectionon line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a section, partly in elevation, on line 77 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section on line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section on line 9-9 of Fig. 1 ;v i

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on line 10-10 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a section on line 1111 ofFig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a section on line 12-'12 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 vis an enlarged section on line 13-13 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged section on line 1411 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary side elevation of the supporting structureshown in tilted position;

Fig. 16 is a front elevation of the-holding deviceshowing a door heldtherein; and

Fig.1? is a perspective view showing the engine hood of an automobileheld by the device.

The supporting structure, generally indicated at 10 'of the device, ismade up of a base block 11,- feet 12 pivotally securedby bolts 13 to thebottom of said block, and an upright post 14 which is -inaxial alinement-with block 11. Between the heads of bolts 13 and feet 12 are frictionplates or washers 15, and stops 16 extend outwardly from block 11 toengage the upper edges of said legs when they are in horizontal positionto prevent the block from moving pivotally into an inclined postion eventhough bolts 13 be loose. However, When it is'desired to incline theblock, the forward legs may be pivotally moved away from stops 16andthen frictionally locked in adjusted position by tightening bolts 13, asshown in Fig. 15. \Vhen the device is to be collapsed for storage ortransportation,the legs may be swung around into a position alongsidethe block as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 13.

In certain cases it is desired to secure a little-finer degree oftilting adjustment for the supporting structure, and I, therefore,

prefer to provide a tilting device of the type shown in detail in Fig.9, though it will be understood that the invention, considered in itsbroader aspects is not limited to the inclusion of such a tiltingdevice. When such a fine degree of adjustment is to be had, block 11 ismade up of two parts 11 and 11", the lower part 11 being that to whichfeet 12 are secured and the upper part being in axial alinement. Parts11 and 11 are also normally in axial alinement, a hinge 1? connectingthe parts and allowing them, under certain conditions, to be thrown outof vertical, axial alinement. As a means for swinging part l1 withrespect to part 11 I provide a bolt 18 pivoted at 19 to part 11 and anut 20 is threaded on this bolt and held by a yoke 21, to part 11", thebolt extending through vertical slots 22 in yoke 21. By rotating nut 20,bolt 18 is moved longitudinally to swing part 11 about hinge 17, thelost motion connection provided by slotting the yoke where it receivesthe bolt, permitting bodily vertical movement of the nut and boltnecessary to accommodate the arcuate movement of part 11 The nut in itsco-action with the bolt and yoke also serves, of course, to hold part 11releasably in adjusted position.

The upper end of part 11 carries a turntable head 24 and is providedwith a central socket 25 to receive the cylindrical extremity 26 of post14 whereby said post may be rotated axially with respect to thesupporting block. Terminal 26 preferably stops short of the bottom ofsocket 25, the load of post 14 being taken'by head 24 which is faciallyengaged by an annular, downwardly facing flange 27 secured to post 14just above terminal 26.

Post 14 serves as a means for supporting the work clamping mechanism,this mechanism including a clamp bar 28 which is pivotally connectedapproximately midway between its ends to said post. The pivotalconnection is made by a bolt 29 which extends through the post and barand through friction discs 30 and 31 secured to said post and barrespectively. These discs being pressed into firm facial engagement bytaking up bolt 29, serve frictionally to hold the clamp bar in anyposition to which it may be moved about the bolt, and by axiallyrotating the post with respect to the supporting block, and swinging theclamp bar about bolt 29, it will be seen that any side of an articleheld by the clamping means may be presented to a worker without changeof position on the work-ers part. As a means for holding the postagainst axial movement in either direction, I may provide a pin 33adapted to be thrust downwardly through an aperture 34 in flange 27 intoa selected aperture 34 in plate 24. lVhen it is desired to limit theaxial rotation of the post without entirely preventing such rotation,pin 33 is thrust into any selected aperture 35 of plate 24 where it isadapted to be contacted with by an arm 36 on flange 27. Occasions forthus entirely preventing'axial rotation of the post or for limiting suchaxial rotation will be apparent to those accustomed to use this type ofwork holding device.

On clamp bar 28 are the two clamp elements generally indicated at 37 and38, and in order to distinguish clearly between these elements, I willterm element 3? a work rest and element 38 a clamping head, and eitheror both of these elements may be moved to adjusted positionlongitudinally along the clamp barso that work of various dimensions maybe accommodated and clamped therebetween.

lVork rest 37 includes a triangular block 39 having a tongue 40 at itsapex, and reinforcing side irons 41. Bolt 42 pivotally connects tongue40 with a U-shaped carrier member 43 which extends about three sides ofbar 28, the fit between the carrier member and bar being such that thecarrier member and all members supported thereby may be shiftedlongitudinally along the bar. The fourth side of the clamp bar isprovided with a wear plate 44 with which the horizontally offset nose 45of tongue 40 is adapted to engage when block 39 is in approximatelyhorizontal position. Block 39 is adapted to be swung about horizontalpivot 42 into a substantially vertical position as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 11 when the device is tobe folded for transportation orstorage. However, when the block is swung downwardly into full line orwork-taking position, the engagement of nose 45 with plate 44 limitstheextent of its pivotal movement, holding it from dropping below theposition of Fig. 11 even when work is resting thereon. The nose alsoserves as a means for holding releasably the block or work rest inadjusted position along the clamp bar, for it engages plate 44 withsufiicient force to prevent the carrier member from sliding along theclamp bar, especially when downward, clamping pressure is exertedthereon in the manner to be described. When the rest is to be adjusted,it is tilted just enough to clear nose 45 from plate 44, the rest thenbeing manually shifted alongthe bar to predetermined position, whereuponit is tilted reversely tobring nose 45 again into contact with plate 44.\Vhen there is no work supported on the work rest, the preponderance ofthe weight of the rest is at the left of pivot point 42, as viewed inFig. 11, tending to rotate block 39 with suflicient force to press nose45 against plate 44 to prevent the work rest and clamp from dropping bygravity. An upwardly facing shoulder 44 at the lower end of bar 28prevents the rest from dropping clear of said bar.

Straps 46 and 47 extend transversely from block 39, being secured to theupper face thereof by bolts 48 and 49, respectively. Bolts 48 alsosecure a transversely extending rest plate 50 to the top of block 39,and upwardly projecting and horizontally spaced corrugated nails 51, orthe like, may be provided on plate 50 as work gripping members. Strap 46is bent at its opposite ends to provide upwardly opening channels 52,while strap 47 is bent downwardly at its opposite ends to provide adownwardly opening hook 53. These channels and hooks are for thereception of removable work-supporting arms 54 which convergehorizontally toward tongue 40. The forward ends 54 of arms 54 are ofreduced size so they may he slipped longitudinally beneath plate 50 andthrough channels 52 and books 53 into the operative position of Fig. 12,shoulders 55 being adapted to engage the front edge of plate 50 to limitthe longitudinal inward movement of the arms. Preferably, the undersides of arms 54 are notched as at 56 to take the cross bar portions 57of straps 46, the notch and bar engagement holding the arms releasablyagainst movement longitudinally out of op-.

erative position. However, when the arms are in operative position,there is sufficient vertical clearance between reduced portions 54* andthe under side of plate 50 to, allow the arms to be raised suflicientlyto clear notches 56 from cross bars 57 so the arms may be withdrawn whenthey are unnecessary to support given work or when the device is to befolded for transportation or storage. Of course, when work is applied tothe free extremities of the arms, said arms tend to rock about straps 46as fulcrums, the

engagement of extremities 54 with straps 47 limiting such movement so asto hold the arms in a substantially horizontal position.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 3, 4, and 5, I will proceed todescribe the improved clamping head making up a portion of my device. AU-shaped carrier member 58 is adapted to extend with sliding fit aboutthree sides of clamp bar 28. A pin 59 extends between the opposite sidesof pieces 60 of carrier 58 and across the fourth side of bar 28.However, the end 61 of the carrier member and the pin 59 are so spacedhorizontally that when member 58 is substantially horizontal there issuflicient clearance between the bar and said end and pin to allow thecarrier to he slid freely along the bar to any desired position ofadjustment. The preponderance of weight of the clamping head is at theright of pin 59, as viewed in Fig. 4, so when the head has been manuallymoved to adjusted position'and manual pressure is released, the headswings slightly about pin 59 in a clockwise direction causing theupper,inner edge of end 61 and the pin 59 to engage bar 28 frictionally withsufiicient force to hold the head from gravitating out of adjustedposition. Said inner edge and pin may therefore be considered asreleasable holding means operable to hold the head against movementalong the bar. On the other hand, when work is gripped between rest 37and head 38 in a manner to be described, the head is swung slightlyabout pin 59 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 4,whereupon the lower inner edge of end 61 and the pin 59 engage theopposite sides ofbar 28 to hold the head frictionally against movementupwardly out of adjusted position.

-A clamping jaw 62 is pivctally connected to carrier 58 by pin 63, andan operating lever 64 is pivoted to said carrier by pin 65, the leverbeing disposed above the jaw and with its cam face 66 in engagement withthe upper, cam face 67 of the jaw. Pivot pins 63 and 65 are horizontallyoffset and a leaf spring 68, supported by pins 69 and 70, is adapted tohold jaw 62 yieldingly in the raised, inoperative position of Fig. 5,when lever 64 is in the inoperative position as shown in this figure.Pivoted at 71 to the upper edge of one of the side pieces 60 is a latch72, a fiat spring 73 on that side piece urging the latch in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 3, thenose 74 of the latch merely engagingthe side face of lever 64 when the latter is in the inoperative positionof Fig. 5.

Assuming that a screen door D is to be clamped in the device, (see Fig.16) the lower edge of the door is rested upon plate 50 or gripping means51 thereof, while clamp head 38, in the condition of Fig. 5, is loweredto bring face 75 of jaw 62 into contact with the upper edge 76 of thedoor. Studs 77 extend from jaw face 75 in order to engage the inner faceof the door for preventing it from slipping inwardly toward bar 28 whenthe clamp is applied. Lever 64 is then swung into the operative positionof Fig. 4, cam 66 acting against face 67 of the jaw 62 to bias said jawagainst the action of spring 68 into the operative clamping position ofFig. 4, the head rotating slightly about pin 59, as previouslydescribed, to throw it into binding engagement with clamp bar 28 andthus hold it from movement upwardly along said bar during theapplication of clamping pressure. The pivotal movement of the jaw maytherefore be considered as operating the means for holding the headreleasably from movement along the bar. As soon as lever 64 has reachedits operative position, spring 73 swings the nose of latch 72 behindsaid lever, thus serving as a means for releasably holding the lever andclamping jaw in operative position.

\Vith the door thus clamped between mem bers 37 and 38, bar 28 may beswung about its horizontal pivot 29 and post 14 may be rotated axiallyto render every part of the door accessible to a workman who may occupyany given position, and since he may apply his tools or brush withoutgiving any attention to supporting the door, he is enabled greatly toexpedite his operation and give more careful attention to the manner inwhich it is performed.

When it is desired to release the door the operator merely has to graspthe handle 72 of latch 72 and swing it against the action of spring 78until latch nose Tel clears lever 64, whereupon spring 68 returns jaw 62to inoperative position and coincidently acts against the cam face oflever (i l to return said lever to inoperative position.

Articles of certain types may not easily be rested upon plate 50 of rest37, and in such cases the articles may usually be taken by supportingarms 54, clamp head 38 still being supported in the manner describedabove. An article which is peculiarly awkward to handle during surfacingoperations thereon,

is the engine hood of an automobile, thisawkwardness arising not only byreason of the configuration of the hood but also because of the jointconnections between the several sections. For aiding in the support ofsuch articles I provide post 14: with a pair of work supporting arms 78.These arms are pivotally connected at 79 to a pair of straps 80 arrangedat opposite sides of post 14 and may be swung to the dotted lineposition of Fig. 1 when they are not in use or when the device is foldedfor storage or transportation. Extending angularly from the underside ofarms 78 are stop pieces 81 which are adapted to engage the sides of post14 when the arms are in substantially horizontal position, the sidefaces of post 14: preferably being provided with wear plates 82. Thesestops 81 hold the arms from dropping below a substantially horizontalposition when work is applied thereto. The arms also have terminal noses88 which are adapted to engage the wear plates when the arms are in ahorizontal position, and the noses engage the plate with sufficientforce to hold straps 80 and hence the arms against movementlongitudinally along posts 14 when work is applied to the top of saidarms. The weight of the arms, alone, is sufficient to engage the noseswith the plates with sufiicient force to hold the side straps and armsfrom gravitating when no work is on top the arms. By swinging the armsupwardly sufficiently to clear posts 1 the arms may be slid along thepost to vary their elevation which ordinarily, though not necessarily,will be in the horizontal plane to which work arms 54 have been moved.Then the lower edges of hinged sections 84 of engine hood II are restedon arms 78 and 54. A board 85 is laid across the top edges of the hood,and head 38 brought down into contact with said board. Lever 64 is thenactuated in the manner described above to throw jaw 62 into clampingposition, thus rigidly clamping the hood between the supporting arms andboard 85.

I have not attempted here to discuss exhaustively all the differentmanners in which the device may be used to advantage, nor have I set outthe various types of articles which may be held thereby, but it isbelieved I have given suflicient descriptive matter to enable thoseskilled in the art to understand how the device may be applied withadvantage in many different situations.

It will be understood the drawings and description are to be consideredmerely as illustrative of and not restrictive on the broader claimsappended hereto, for various changes in design, structure andarrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofsaid claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, and awork clamp supported thereby, said clamp embodying a bar secured to thesupporting structure, a carrier member slidable longitudinally along thebar, a work rest pivotally connected to the carrier member and movablepivotally from a position substantially paralleling the bar to aposition substantially perpendicular to the bar, means on the restadapted, when the rest is perpendicular to the bar, to engage the barfrictionally to hold the carrier in adjusted position on the bar, and aclamp head movable longitudinally along the bar towards and away fromthe rest.

2. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, and awork clamp supported thereby, said clamp embodying a bar secured to thesupporting structure, a work rest extending transversely from the bar,and a clamp head on the bar and longitudinally spaced from the rest;said head embodying a carrier, a clamping jaw pivot ally connected tothe carrier, and pivotally movable to and from operative position, aspring adapted normally to hold the lever in inoperative position, anoperating lever adaptedto bias the clamping jaw into operative position,and a releasable latch adapted to engage the operating lever and therebyhold the clamping jaw releasably in operative position.

3. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, and awork clamp supported thereby, said clamp embodying a bar secured to thesupporting structure, a work rest extending transversely from the bar,and a clamp head on the bar and longitudinally spaced from the rest;said head embodying a carrier, a clamping jaw pivotally connected to thecarrier, and pivotally movable to and from operative position, a springadapted normally to hold the lever in inoperative position, an operatinglever adapted to bias the clamping jaw into operative position, and areleasable, spring actuated latch adapted to engage the operating leverand thereby hold the clamping jaw releasably in operative position.

4. In a device of the character described, a bar and a clamp head onsaid bar, said head embodying a carrier member, a clamping jaw pivotallyconnected to the carrier and pivotally movable to and from operativeposition, spring means adapted yieldingly to hold the jaw in inoperativeposition, and an operating lever adapted to bias the jaw into operativeposition against the action of said spring.

5. In a device of the character described, a clamp bar, and a pair ofclamp members on the bar and adapted to take between them an article tobe clamped, one of said members being movable along the bar towards andaway from the other member, releasable means operable to hold said onemember against movement along the bar, away from said other member, aclamping j aw on said one member and movable pivotally with respectthereto into and out of clamping engagement with the article, said jawin its pivotal movement as it engages the article being adapted tooperate said holding means.

6. In a device of the character described, a clamp bar, and a clamp headon the bar, said head embodying a carrier member, a clamping jawpivotally connected to the carrier and pivotally movable to and fromoperative position, an operating lever adapted to move the jaw frominoperative to operative position, and releasable means adapted to holdthe jaw in operative position.

7. In a device of the character described, a base member, asubstantially vertical post supported for axial rotation by the member,spaced clamp members on the bar and adapted to take work between them,and means adapted to be applied to the base and post in a mannerselectively to hold the post from axial rotation and to allow onlylimited axial rotation thereof.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 8th day of February, 1926.

WILLIAM R. GORRELL.

